SIBU: Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) has urged all the hotel and lodging operators within its area of jurisdiction to apply for a license before March 31.
Its chairman, Sempurai Petrus Ngelai said that operating without a license exposes not only the operator but also the public or customers to danger.
“The number of hotels and lodging without a license is growing especially in Sibu Jaya and Selangau areas which are a cause for our concerns.
“These premises without a proper license certainly did not meet the prescribed conditions such as having a fire certificate and so on for the safety of the public staying there,” he said during a press conference today (Jan 12).
Sempurai said that the issue has been voiced out since 2019 when his administrative area had four to five such premises.
“Dialogues with these operators have been held two to three times but did not get a good response and up until now only one operator applied for the license.
“This compels the council to take serious action on this matter by imposing the rules.
“The council will strictly monitor matters related to the development of hotels, rental rooms, and related matters in our area because they need to be licensed with certain conditions starting this year,” he stressed.
Sempurai said applications for hotels, rental rooms, and inns that are operated in commercial buildings in its administrative area are now available for any applications.
He reminded the entrepreneurs to comply with all the terms and conditions as stipulated in the application form.
“Cooperation is strongly required from all relevant parties to ensure that those who wish to run a hotel/rental room/inn business are reminded to obtain an application form from SRDC.
“It can be obtained at the SRDC office located at Level 17, Wisma Sanyan, Jalan Sanyan, 96000, Sibu,” he added.
